Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate.

²Then Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” He answered and said to him, “It is as you say.”

³And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing.

⁴Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, “Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You!”

⁵But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.

⁶Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested.

⁷And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion.

⁸Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them.

⁹But Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”

¹⁰For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.

¹¹But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them.

¹²Pilate answered and said to them again, “What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?”

¹³So they cried out again, “Crucify Him!”

¹⁴Then Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, “Crucify Him!”

¹⁵So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.

¹⁶Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison.

¹⁷And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head,

¹⁸and began to salute Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

¹⁹Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him.

²⁰And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.

²¹Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.

²²And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull.

²³Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.

²⁴And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.

²⁵Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.

²⁶And the inscription of His accusation was written above: THE KING OF THE JEWS.

²⁷With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left.

²⁸So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with the transgressors.”

²⁹And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days,

³⁰save Yourself, and come down from the cross!”

³¹Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save.

³²Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.

³³Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

³⁴And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

³⁵Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, “Look, He is calling for Elijah!”

³⁶Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down.”

³⁷And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.

³⁸Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

³⁹So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!”

⁴⁰There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome,

⁴¹who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.

⁴²Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,

⁴³Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

⁴⁴Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time.

⁴⁵So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.

⁴⁶Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.

⁴⁷And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.

¹Now the famine was severe in the land.

²And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.”

³But Judah spoke to him, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’

⁴If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food.

⁵But if you will not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ ”

⁶And Israel said, “Why did you deal so wrongfully with me as to tell the man whether you had still another brother?”

⁷But they said, “The man asked us pointedly about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we told him according to these words. Could we possibly have known that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”

⁸Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones.

⁹I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.

¹⁰For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time.”

¹¹And their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best fruits of the land in your vessels and carry down a present for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds.

¹²Take double money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight.

¹³Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man.

¹⁴And may God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!”

¹⁵So the men took that present and Benjamin, and they took double money in their hand, and arose and went down to Egypt; and they stood before Joseph.

¹⁶When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my home, and slaughter an animal and make ready; for these men will dine with me at noon.”

¹⁷Then the man did as Joseph ordered, and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house.

¹⁸Now the men were afraid because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, “It is because of the money, which was returned in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may make a case against us and seize us, to take us as slaves with our donkeys.”

¹⁹When they drew near to the steward of Joseph’s house, they talked with him at the door of the house,

²⁰and said, “O sir, we indeed came down the first time to buy food;

²¹but it happened, when we came to the encampment, that we opened our sacks, and there, each man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight; so we have brought it back in our hand.

²²And we have brought down other money in our hands to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.”

²³But he said, “Peace be with you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

²⁴So the man brought the men into Joseph’s house and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed.

²⁵Then they made the present ready for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they would eat bread there.

²⁶And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed down before him to the earth.

²⁷Then he asked them about their well-being, and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”

²⁸And they answered, “Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads down and prostrated themselves.

²⁹Then he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your younger brother of whom you spoke to me?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.”

³⁰Now his heart yearned for his brother; so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep. And he went into his chamber and wept there.

³¹Then he washed his face and came out; and he restrained himself, and said, “Serve the bread.”

³²So they set him a place by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat food with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians.

³³And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth; and the men looked in astonishment at one another.

³⁴Then he took servings to them from before him, but Benjamin’s serving was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him.

¹Oh, that you would bear with me in a little folly—and indeed you do bear with me.

²For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

³But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

⁴For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!

⁵For I consider that I am not at all inferior to the most eminent apostles.

⁶Even though I am untrained in speech, yet I am not in knowledge. But we have been thoroughly manifested among you in all things.

⁷Did I commit sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge?

⁸I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to minister to you.

⁹And when I was present with you, and in need, I was a burden to no one, for what I lacked the brethren who came from Macedonia supplied. And in everything I kept myself from being burdensome to you, and so I will keep myself.

¹⁰As the truth of Christ is in me, no one shall stop me from this boasting in the regions of Achaia.

¹¹Why? Because I do not love you? God knows!

¹²But what I do, I will also continue to do, that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast.

¹³For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.

¹⁴And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.

¹⁵Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.

¹⁶I say again, let no one think me a fool. If otherwise, at least receive me as a fool, that I also may boast a little.

¹⁷What I speak, I speak not according to the Lord, but as it were, foolishly, in this confidence of boasting.

¹⁸Seeing that many boast according to the flesh, I also will boast.

¹⁹For you put up with fools gladly, since you yourselves are wise!

²⁰For you put up with it if one brings you into bondage, if one devours you, if one takes from you, if one exalts himself, if one strikes you on the face.

²¹To our shame I say that we were too weak for that! But in whatever anyone is bold—I speak foolishly—I am bold also.

²²Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I.

²³Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.

²⁴From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.

²⁵Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep;

²⁶in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;

²⁷in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—

²⁸besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.

²⁹Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?

³⁰If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity.

³¹The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.

³²In Damascus the governor, under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me;

³³but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands.

¹Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:

²Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

³Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

⁴For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.

⁶And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day;

⁷as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

⁸Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries.

⁹Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

¹⁰But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves.

¹¹Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

¹²These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots;

¹³raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.

¹⁴Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints,

¹⁵to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

¹⁶These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage.

¹⁷But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ:

¹⁸how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts.

¹⁹These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.

²⁰But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,

²¹keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

²²And on some have compassion, making a distinction;

²³but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

²⁴Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,

²⁵To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.

¹The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

²“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”

³What profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun?

⁴One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever.

⁵The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, And hastens to the place where it arose.

⁶The wind goes toward the south, And turns around to the north; The wind whirls about continually, And comes again on its circuit.

⁷All the rivers run into the sea, Yet the sea is not full; To the place from which the rivers come, There they return again.

⁸All things are full of labor; Man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear filled with hearing.

⁹That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun.

¹⁰Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us.

¹¹There is no remembrance of former things, Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come By those who will come after.

¹²I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

¹³And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised.

¹⁴I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.

¹⁵What is crooked cannot be made straight, And what is lacking cannot be numbered.

¹⁶I communed with my heart, saying, “Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge.”

¹⁷And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind.

¹⁸For in much wisdom is much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

¹Vindicate me, O God, And plead my cause against an ungodly nation; Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man!

²For You are the God of my strength; Why do You cast me off? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

³Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill And to Your tabernacle.

⁴Then I will go to the altar of God, To God my exceeding joy; And on the harp I will praise You, O God, my God.

⁵Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.

¹Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, But he who hates correction is stupid.

²A good man obtains favor from the LORD, But a man of wicked intentions He will condemn.

³A man is not established by wickedness, But the root of the righteous cannot be moved.

⁴An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, But she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones.

⁵The thoughts of the righteous are right, But the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.

⁶The words of the wicked are, “Lie in wait for blood,” But the mouth of the upright will deliver them.

⁷The wicked are overthrown and are no more, But the house of the righteous will stand.

⁸A man will be commended according to his wisdom, But he who is of a perverse heart will be despised.

⁹Better is the one who is slighted but has a servant, Than he who honors himself but lacks bread.

¹⁰A righteous man regards the life of his animal, But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.

¹¹He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread, But he who follows frivolity is devoid of understanding.

¹²The wicked covet the catch of evil men, But the root of the righteous yields fruit.

¹³The wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, But the righteous will come through trouble.

¹⁴A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth, And the recompense of a man’s hands will be rendered to him.

¹⁵The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise.

¹⁶A fool’s wrath is known at once, But a prudent man covers shame.

¹⁷He who speaks truth declares righteousness, But a false witness, deceit.

¹⁸There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, But the tongue of the wise promotes health.

¹⁹The truthful lip shall be established forever, But a lying tongue is but for a moment.

²⁰Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, But counselors of peace have joy.

²¹No grave trouble will overtake the righteous, But the wicked shall be filled with evil.

²²Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, But those who deal truthfully are His delight.

²³A prudent man conceals knowledge, But the heart of fools proclaims foolishness.

²⁴The hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy man will be put to forced labor.

²⁵Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad.

²⁶The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray.

²⁷The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, But diligence is man’s precious possession.

²⁸In the way of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death.

¹And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite staying in the remote mountains of Ephraim. He took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.

²But his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there four whole months.

³Then her husband arose and went after her, to speak kindly to her and bring her back, having his servant and a couple of donkeys with him. So she brought him into her father’s house; and when the father of the young woman saw him, he was glad to meet him.

⁴Now his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, detained him; and he stayed with him three days. So they ate and drank and lodged there.

⁵Then it came to pass on the fourth day that they arose early in the morning, and he stood to depart; but the young woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “Refresh your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.”

⁶So they sat down, and the two of them ate and drank together. Then the young woman’s father said to the man, “Please be content to stay all night, and let your heart be merry.”

⁷And when the man stood to depart, his father-in-law urged him; so he lodged there again.

⁸Then he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart, but the young woman’s father said, “Please refresh your heart.” So they delayed until afternoon; and both of them ate.

⁹And when the man stood to depart—he and his concubine and his servant—his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, said to him, “Look, the day is now drawing toward evening; please spend the night. See, the day is coming to an end; lodge here, that your heart may be merry. Tomorrow go your way early, so that you may get home.”

¹⁰However, the man was not willing to spend that night; so he rose and departed, and came opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). With him were the two saddled donkeys; his concubine was also with him.

¹¹They were near Jebus, and the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, “Come, please, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and lodge in it.”

¹²But his master said to him, “We will not turn aside here into a city of foreigners, who are not of the children of Israel; we will go on to Gibeah.”

¹³So he said to his servant, “Come, let us draw near to one of these places, and spend the night in Gibeah or in Ramah.”

¹⁴And they passed by and went their way; and the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin.

¹⁵They turned aside there to go in to lodge in Gibeah. And when he went in, he sat down in the open square of the city, for no one would take them into his house to spend the night.

¹⁶Just then an old man came in from his work in the field at evening, who also was from the mountains of Ephraim; he was staying in Gibeah, whereas the men of the place were Benjamites.

¹⁷And when he raised his eyes, he saw the traveler in the open square of the city; and the old man said, “Where are you going, and where do you come from?”

¹⁸So he said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah toward the remote mountains of Ephraim; I am from there. I went to Bethlehem in Judah; now I am going to the house of the LORD. But there is no one who will take me into his house,

¹⁹although we have both straw and fodder for our donkeys, and bread and wine for myself, for your female servant, and for the young man who is with your servant; there is no lack of anything.”

²⁰And the old man said, “Peace be with you! However, let all your needs be my responsibility; only do not spend the night in the open square.”

²¹So he brought him into his house, and gave fodder to the donkeys. And they washed their feet, and ate and drank.

²²As they were enjoying themselves, suddenly certain men of the city, perverted men, surrounded the house and beat on the door. They spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came to your house, that we may know him carnally!”

²³But the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brethren! I beg you, do not act so wickedly! Seeing this man has come into my house, do not commit this outrage.

²⁴Look, here is my virgin daughter and the man’s concubine; let me bring them out now. Humble them, and do with them as you please; but to this man do not do such a vile thing!”

²⁵But the men would not heed him. So the man took his concubine and brought her out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until morning; and when the day began to break, they let her go.

²⁶Then the woman came as the day was dawning, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her master was, till it was light.

²⁷When her master arose in the morning, and opened the doors of the house and went out to go his way, there was his concubine, fallen at the door of the house with her hands on the threshold.

²⁸And he said to her, “Get up and let us be going.” But there was no answer. So the man lifted her onto the donkey; and the man got up and went to his place.

²⁹When he entered his house he took a knife, laid hold of his concubine, and divided her into twelve pieces, limb by limb, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel.

³⁰And so it was that all who saw it said, “No such deed has been done or seen from the day that the children of Israel came up from the land of Egypt until this day. Consider it, confer, and speak up!”

¹But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.

²When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.

³For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place.

⁴Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored, And I have loved you; Therefore I will give men for you, And people for your life.

⁵Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, And gather you from the west;

⁶I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’ Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the ends of the earth—

⁷Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.”

⁸Bring out the blind people who have eyes, And the deaf who have ears.

⁹Let all the nations be gathered together, And let the people be assembled. Who among them can declare this, And show us former things? Let them bring out their witnesses, that they may be justified; Or let them hear and say, “It is truth.”

¹⁰“You are My witnesses,” says the LORD, “And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me.

¹¹I, even I, am the LORD, And besides Me there is no savior.

¹²I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, And there was no foreign god among you; Therefore you are My witnesses,” Says the LORD, “that I am God.

¹³Indeed before the day was, I am He; And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it?”

¹⁴Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: “For your sake I will send to Babylon, And bring them all down as fugitives— The Chaldeans, who rejoice in their ships.

¹⁵I am the LORD, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King.”

¹⁶Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea And a path through the mighty waters,

¹⁷Who brings forth the chariot and horse, The army and the power (They shall lie down together, they shall not rise; They are extinguished, they are quenched like a wick):

¹⁸“Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old.

¹⁹Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.

²⁰The beast of the field will honor Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I give waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My people, My chosen.

²¹This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise.

²²“But you have not called upon Me, O Jacob; And you have been weary of Me, O Israel.

²³You have not brought Me the sheep for your burnt offerings, Nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not caused you to serve with grain offerings, Nor wearied you with incense.

²⁴You have bought Me no sweet cane with money, Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices; But you have burdened Me with your sins, You have wearied Me with your iniquities.

²⁵“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.

²⁶Put Me in remembrance; Let us contend together; State your case, that you may be acquitted.

²⁷Your first father sinned, And your mediators have transgressed against Me.

²⁸Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary; I will give Jacob to the curse, And Israel to reproaches.

¹And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

²Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question.

³So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren.

⁴And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them.

⁵But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”

⁶Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.

⁷And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.

⁸So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us,

⁹and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

¹⁰Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

¹¹But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”

¹²Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles.

¹³And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, “Men and brethren, listen to me:

¹⁴Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name.

¹⁵And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:

¹⁶‘After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up;

¹⁷So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the LORD who does all these things.’

¹⁸“Known to God from eternity are all His works.

¹⁹Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God,

²⁰but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.

²¹For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

²²Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren.

²³They wrote this letter by them: The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.

²⁴Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law” —to whom we gave no such commandment—

²⁵it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

²⁶men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁷We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth.

²⁸For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:

²⁹that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.

³⁰So when they were sent off, they came to Antioch; and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the letter.

³¹When they had read it, they rejoiced over its encouragement.

³²Now Judas and Silas, themselves being prophets also, exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words.

³³And after they had stayed there for a time, they were sent back with greetings from the brethren to the apostles.

³⁴However, it seemed good to Silas to remain there.

³⁵Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

³⁶Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.”

³⁷Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark.

³⁸But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work.

³⁹Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus;

⁴⁰but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God.

⁴¹And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.